The desktop mind map that I started using New Year’s Day is a study of time. Not enough time. Wasted time. The value of my time. What am I going to do with my time? How much time does it take? How do I balance my time? …[continued]
time
Only as far back as June, I was worried that mind maps are not the best place for my to-do lists. When actually they’re the perfect place for my to-do lists. I just had too many of them.
It was before I consolidated my 41 mind maps into other things: Research Toolbox, Software and Webstream. Before I dragged and dropped everything else into OneNote. …[continued]
My two favorite organizational tools are mind mapping and The Action Machine.
Mind-mapping for detailed categorization of ideas and plans. The Action Machine for setting it up in time slots and getting it done. …[continued]
The 3 basic steps for productivity are:
1. Write down all the tasks you want to get done today.
2. Assign a specific block of time for completing each task.
3. Select a task, start a timer, and focus on nothing else until that task is complete!
The Action Machine 3 is intuitively designed to keep you focused.
…[continued]
We’re coming up to New Year’s again and I just know as a law-abiding, self-respecting genealogist you’re going to want to make some resolutions about being better organized. …[continued]
Moving on to lighter matters. Preservation of your digital files.
If you think because your files are backed up to extra hard-drives and disks you’re good to go for the next hundred years, or even five, think again. …[continued]
“You have to prioritize. It’s all a matter of priorities.” How many times have we heard that?
Simple yet profound. …[continued]
There’s the paperwork of the dead and then, there’s the paperwork of the living.
Yesterday I was on a roll with the READ ME files, going into the second hour, just beetling along feeling confident to get through another two hours of other tasks. I had just finished a long document, was in the middle of printing out two pages when my 7-year old printer decided to die. I only print a few pages per year so I don’t know what its problem was all of a sudden. …[continued]
I guess yesterday was Day 5 of the Diary. I don’t really remember yesterday. The Action Machine report says I put in half an hour on the READ ME files, an hour on scanning and an hour on my website. Other than that it’s a bit of a blur. …[continued]
A study of time management immediately segues into health issues. That was such a profound thought in the middle of the night it kept me awake. Profound thoughts can be bad for my health. …[continued]
By the end of Day 2 I’d come to a different idea about setting up my timers. Having one for ‘maintenance’ is too distracting. I don’t need to be reminded about checking email, logging into my various accounts, upgrades, updates, data backup, etc. They’re already like breathing. …[continued]
I got up late and did not make a list before I started my day. That was a mistake. Just winging it, this is what happened: …[continued]
